Stray Kids’ ‘DominATE Experience’ turns cinema into barricade
Stray Kids has mastered the art of keeping their fandom on their toes. Just when fans, known as Stay, think they’ve figured the group out, they switch things up.
The “DominATE” World Tour is proof of that.
The self-producing group has dismantled and rebuilt its setlist twice, creating three distinct versions of the show. The concert witnessed in Bulacan was almost identical to the kickoff in Seoul. But by the time the group reached their encore at Incheon’s Asiad Main Stadium last year, the show had transformed completely, with a few familiar elements and anchors left.
“Stray Kids: The DominATE Experience” captures the sweet spot between Bulacan and their final show. The concert film and documentary premiered on Feb. 4 and was screened exclusively at SM Cinemas. It is a first for Stray Kids, and the timing to come out with one couldn’t be more perfect. “DominATE” made history as the largest K-pop tour to date, spanning 34 regions across 56 shows and drawing over two million attendees.
Shot during their show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, it features 29 songs, stitched together with candid interviews and behind-the-scenes moments. The interviews make up for the concert’s trimmed talking segments, giving it a more intimate rhythm. It’s a strategy that helps make it feel like a shared moment.
In the fandom space, much of the discussion leading up to the screening has been about etiquette. Is it meant to be treated like a regular movie, where the audience should remain seated and quiet? Or do you approach it like a mini-concert?
Members Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and I.N clearly performed with the future in mind. Many of their crowd interactions were done in a way that translates seamlessly to the big screen. Those moments retain the interactive vibe inside the cinema, making it easy for audiences to respond as if they were part of the crowd at SoFi.
In Jjam, for example, Lee Know made the crowd chant his line, “I know, you know, Lee Know.” The track Stray Kids also has vocables designed for participation, and Han stretched the final refrain and invited the crowd to echo it back.
All of these were designed to pull the audience into the performance. Stray Kids has always thrived on crowd energy and knows exactly how to feed it.
Setlist change
Bang Chan, Changbin and Han, collectively known as 3RACHA, are prolific songwriters with extensive credits under the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA). That creative ownership extends to the rest of the group as well, with all of them holding numerous songwriting credits.
The sheer volume of music they produce is a strength, but it also complicates how they balance their catalog for live performances.
They left the Bulacan setlist behind when the tour moved outside Asia. In the process, they cut 15 songs, including the well-loved solo performances that had defined the show up to that point.
They introduced unit pairings from “Mixtape: DominATE,” which was released mid-tour and made its tour debut in North America. They are Han and Felix’s swagger-filled Truman, Changbin and I.N’s high-octane Burnin’ Tires, Bang Chan and Hyunjin’s sultry Escape and Lee Know and Seungmin’s heartwarming Cinema.
They also added Walkin On Water, the title track from “Hop,” as well as Super Board from “Maxident.” The latter served as the cue for the members to hop onto their carts and circle the stadium.
Oversized stage spectacle has become a Stray Kids signature. In Bulacan, they emerged from a massive chrome mouth opening, like victorious Greek gods spat out by a Titan. At SoFi, a towering inflatable figure that rose during Giant was the new feature. Unfortunately, this visual didn’t translate as powerfully on screen, losing some of its impact. The accompanying performance, however, delivered.
Two songs from “Rock-Star” album were also added. Blind Spot worked especially well, keeping the energy high as it flowed seamlessly after I Like It and My Pace. Then there was Cover Me, a song that made its unofficial tour debut in Bulacan through a fan project. Back then, Stray Kids looked visibly moved as their fans collectively strained their vocal cords, determined to hit the song’s impossibly high notes. It’s now a running joke that maybe, just maybe, that Philippine moment had something to do with the song’s eventual addition to the setlist.
In the end, only five songs remained untouched in terms of order throughout the entire tour: Mountains, Thunderous, Jjam, District 9 and Back Door. These opening tracks served as the anchors of the show.
The film offers fans a chance to relive the excitement of the tour. It also gives them an insight on the members’ thoughts. It’s fun, entertaining and creates a barricade-like experience at the comfort of a cinema seat. For Filipino viewers, it is an opportunity to experience the version that the other half of the world got to see. For non-fans, it’s an introduction to the diverse discography of the group which includes soft tracks like Lonely St and bangers like Chk Chk Boom and Lalalala.
The way Stray Kids reworked the tour underscores that no one does it like them. It takes real chutzpah to keep evolving while still staying true to their roots, even under the pressure of fame and success. It serves as a reminder for fans. That to love Stray Kids is to stay flexible, ready to embrace every unexpected track and reinvention, knowing full well it’s all part of the wild ride.
The film feels like a despedida party to a magical era that stood witness to the explosive global domination of Stray Kids. With a new world tour on the horizon, it also feels like a prelude to what’s to come. And oh, how the Philippines will always roll out the red carpet for them.
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